


Paraspite City

by theunseeliemperoress



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: AU, Alien OC, Body Horror, Gen, i just really like body horror/mutation stuff ok, monster au, mutant AU, powers au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-04
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-28 07:21:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13266498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theunseeliemperoress/pseuds/theunseeliemperoress
Summary: The city of Gotham has been infected by an alien species called Paraspites which kill their hosts in a few weeks. Placed under quarantine the whole city waits to die. But all is not what it seems.





	1. The Invasion

The wall was stained with a black substance. “What do you think happened here?” Nightwing asked. Red Robin frowned. “I’m not sure.” He leaned forward to get a closer look. “It looks like ink but, there’s something off about it. Hang on I’m gonna take a sample.” Nightwing watched as his brother placed a hand on the wall. Almost as soon as he did the mass began to move. Most of it ran down the wall, but a small part split off and ran up Red Robin’s arm and onto his neck before seeping into his skin. Night wing was so busy staring at his brother he didn’t notice the black mass crawling up his leg. When he spotted it he tried to get it off but nothing worked. It crawled up him onto his own neck before also seeping into his skin. The two of them stared at each other in horror before looking at the ground. The mass kept splitting as it ran down the street. “We should probably call Batman.” Red robin suggested. Nightwing nodded. “Yeah. We probably should avoid physical contact with anyone too. Just in case.” The younger boy nodded as they began to make their way back to the cave. Nightwing was busy trying to get hold of Bruce or Alfred so Red Robin was left to think about what had just happened. What had just happened? It had all happened so fast. One moment he’d laid his hand on the wall the next thing he knew that stuff was climbing up his arm. He could still feel where it had melted into his skin. It was like the dull ache you get after an injection. “Shit!” he was pulled out of his thoughts by Nightwing’s outcry. “What?”   
“Apparently it’s already spread across the city. Wow that thing moves fast.” Red Robin blinked. “The entire city?” he asked. “But how...” Nightwing shook his head. “I don’t know but this is bad.”  
“How bad do you think?” Nightwing looked at him and smiled a little. “Well B said he was going to contact the league for help. So I’d say pretty bad.” Normally Tim would have laughed at this, but the way Nightwing’s smile didn’t reach his eyes stopped him. This was pretty bad.   
***   
Bruce stood in front of the computer. His whole body felt heavy but he couldn’t sit down. He was sure if he did he would fall asleep and he couldn’t afford to waste time. The exhaustion had started not long after that stuff had seeped into his skin, and it was getting worse. He glanced over at Robin who had fallen asleep in the Batmobile. Robin was frowning slightly but other than that his sleep seemed relatively peaceful. “Bruce?” he looked back round to the screen. “Clark I’ve...”   
“We’ve been trying to contact you.” Bruce frowned. “You have?”   
“Yeah. We had a message. From someone named Quarline Delu.”  
“Never heard of her.”   
“She’s not from earth. Anyway she said something had landed in Gotham, something dangerous. They’re called Paraspites.” Bruce sighed. “I think I’ve just met them.” Bruce glanced over at Damian who was still fast asleep. “How dangerous are they?” One look at Clark’s face answered his question. “No one who has been infected has survived.” Bruce racked his brain for a plan. But his mind was fuzzy. “Is there any way to stop it from spreading?” he eventually asked. “If we quarantine the whole city. But that would...”   
“Do it.” Clark looked taken aback. “Are you sure?”   
“Yes. Maybe I can find a cure from in here but we can’t let it spread.”  
“There has to be another way.”  
“Well if you find one let me know. But for now no one gets in or out.” He could tell Clark was about to argue before closing his mouth. Neither of them was happy about this but they both knew he was right. “I guess I’d better leave you to find a cure.” And with that the screen went blank. “Are we going to die?” Bruce looked round to see the rest of his children had entered the cave. He walked over to Duke, who had spoken, and laid a hand on his shoulder. But he said nothing. What could he say? “You are going to look for a cure?” he looked up at Alfred and shook his head. “I can’t I’m too. I just...” he didn’t need to say anymore. He looked at his children. Dick looked how he felt, Jason was holding Tim up, who had fallen asleep, Duke and Cass were half leaning on each other and Damian was still asleep in his seat. None of them needed him to explain. They knew how deep this exhaustion went. “You’d better take Tim upstairs. He can sleep in my bed.” Then as an afterthought. “You’d better help these two up as well.” He gestured to Cass and Duke. The two older boys nodded. Jason picked Tim up and carried him up stairs like a baby. Dick let Cass lean on him and half lead half carried her behind Jason while Duke followed. “Is there really nothing you can do?” Alfred asked. Bruce looked at him and nodded before picking up Damian. He carried his son up to his room where he found the others all asleep. They were all in the bed except Jason who was half on half off. With a sigh Bruce placed Damian next to Dick before walking round to the other side. With some effort he lifted Jason’s legs and placed them on the bed before walking back and laying down next to Damian. It wasn’t long before his eyes closed and he fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Waking up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce, Jason, Damian and Tim are the first to wake up and find there's been some changes. And that they're not alone.

Bruce woke up to see sunlight streaming into the room. He struggled to open his eyes and began to sit up. Looking down he could see the kids were all asleep under the blankets, their arms and legs seemed to be tangled together. They looked sick, their faces were paler, Tim looked almost transparent, and they seemed to have lost weight but they were alive. How he had no idea but right now he hardly cared. He was still a little weary and his body ached. Clinging to the wall to stop him from falling he staggered to the bathroom. Clinging to the basin he turned on the cold tap he splashed water in his face in an attempt to wake himself up. He was just about to reach for a towel when he stopped and frowned. His hands were in front of his face but he could still feel the cold edge of the sink on his palms. He looked down to see a second pair of arms griping the edge of the sink. Shaking he lifted the second pair of hands off the sink and held them up. They were as easy to move as his own. What was he thinking? These were his own, as strange as that idea was. Taking a deep breath he looked up and for the first time he saw his reflection. His cheeks looked hollower and his skin also seemed drained of colour. But what really caught his eye were his teeth, all of which were sharp canines, and what was coming out of his back. Were those... were those wings? He took a step back. They were, two large wings like a bats that were almost the length of his body, stopping just at the ankle. “Admiring the view?” a woman’s voice asked. He looked around trying to find the source, but he was alone. “No good looking sweetie. I’m in here.”  
“In where?” he asked confused. “In your head.” She laughed. “Oh your face. I’m sorry I’m being dramatic aren’t I? I’m your Paraspite.”  
“So you’re the one who was supposed to kill me.”  
“Kill you!? Oh heavens no. We aren’t supposed to kill our host. It’s just we’ve been unable to find a host that was compatible with us.” Her voice sounded sad. “Our original host species were wiped out and we’ve been looking for a new one ever since. We can’t live long without a host you see.” So that was why. The Paraspites weren’t evil, just desperate. After a while he broke the silence. “So what’s your name?”   
“Well you see I don’t have one. Our hosts have to name us. So what do you think my name should be?”   
“I don’t know. What about Lyra. It’s a constellation and you’re from space.” He could almost feel her smiling. “I like that name. Ok my name’s Lyra. And I know yours it’s...”  
“Bruce.” He looked round to see Jason standing in the doorway. “Jason.” Bruce couldn’t help to stare at him. A second mouth ran from ear to ear, though this one had no lips, and two large black feathered wings grew from his back. But that wasn’t what caught his eye. From the lower half of Jason’t left eye socket down on cheek across part of his nose and half his mouth his skin was transparent so his skull was visible. The skin and flesh on his throat and chest were also invisible so his ribcage was visible and he could see his lungs breathing. Were they just invisible though he thought? Cautiously he reached out and placed his hand on Jason’s cheek. He could feel his skin beneath his fingers. Jason frowned at him but it was more a look of concern than anything. “Well say something!” Lyra snapped making Bruce jump. “I mean come on you haven’t seen him in weeks, you thought he was going to die and now you’re just staring at him.”   
“Weeks?” he asked. “That’s how long you’ve been asleep. Well kind off. Sometime’s you’d wake up to drink something and you changed clothes at some point. But for the most part you were asleep. It’s less painful that way.”  
“I guessed that!” Jason snapped. He looked at Bruce. “I was talking to Cruz.”   
“Your Paraspite?” Jason nodded. “So I guess we’re stuck with this.” He gestured to his now visible skull.   
“It would seem so.” Bruce agreed. There was another pause as Jason’s eyes shifted. A sign Bruce took to mean Cruz was speaking to him. “Ok just shut up!” he hissed griping the door frame. “I don’t care just shut up!”   
“Jason...” Bruce began. Jason’s head snapped up. “What?”   
“The door frame.” Jason looked round to see the frame was melting under his hand. “What the fuck?” he lifted his hand and stared at it. The palm was glowing red hot, though it seemed to be cooling down rapidly.”I probably should have mentioned. As well as some physical differences our hosts gain a new ability.” Lyra explained. “You waited to tell me for the dramatics didn’t you?”   
“Yep.” He pursed his lips. Clearly Lyra’s flare for drama was going to get on his nerves at some point. Though maybe not as badly as Cruz seemed to get on Jason’s. “Do you want to know what you can do?” Lyra asked. Then before he could answer “Hold your hand out and imagine that bar of soap lifting up.” A little hesitantly he did just that. At first nothing happened then the bar began to rise. In his surprise Bruce lost concentration and the soap dropped, a lot faster than seemed normal, before hitting the sink. Crash! The impact of the bar was so great it left a hole in the basin. “I was going to say aim it at the wall but that works too.” Jason, who was still in the door way, started laughing. “So your power is to turn everyday objects into projectile weapons.” Bruce was about to say something but stopped when he heard movement in the next room. He caught Jason’s eye before they both left the bathroom. Both of them saw Damian stir and it up. Bruce made his way over and knelt down. “Hey Dami baby.” He reached out and stroked his youngest son’s hair. Damian peered at him through half closed eyes. He opened his mouth to reveal a row of sharp teeth. The tips of his fingers that lay on the pillow had long claws; they were also black, like they’d been dipped in paint. Bruce could also see two wings like his only smaller, protruding from Damian’s back. “Father what...” he stopped and looked around frowning. “Your Paraspite found their voice huh?” Jason asked. “It’s ok you can talk to them.” Bruce added. Looked at the floor before noticing his hand, he stared at it his frown deepening. Eventually he spoke. “Why should I? Ok fine. How about Adnan? Ok your name’s Adnan now.” He looked up at Bruce. “I’m hungry.” He complained. Bruce couldn’t help but smile at the childish tone in his voice. “Ok we’ll see what we can find.” They left the room and were half way down the corridor, Jason not far behind, when they heard a voice coming from the doorway. “Wait for me.” They looked round to see Tim making his way towards them. Two horns like goats grew out of his forehead before curving back over his head. A mouth had formed where his left eye should be, while another had formed on the right side of his neck and on his right shoulder. Along the floor lay a tail. The three couldn’t help but stare. It was blood red and twice as long as Tim’s body, the base was the width of his back and the tip was as this as a pencil. “Hey Timmers.” Jason called. “Wow you look like a corpse.”   
“I feel like one.” He admitted. “But I’m sure I feel better soon.” He added when he looked at Bruce’s concerned face. Without another word they made their way down the stairs. “You boys find something to eat. I just need to check something.” The three boys shrugged and made their way into the kitchen while Bruce headed down the hall.  
***  
“Todd that is disgusting!” Damian cried as the older boy bit into the slice of cheese he had just pulled mould off of. “What its cheese. It’s like rotten milk anyway.” Tim watched them bicker as he bit into his toast. His shadow shifted until it took on the form of a girl, her hair moving as if it was alive. Ebony sat on the stool next to him. “Are they always like that?” she asked. Tim nodded. “Yeah though they fight with me too. Especially Damian.”   
“Oh.” She sounded a little upset at that idea. “That’s just part of having siblings. It doesn’t mean anything. Usually.” He took a sip from his mug, which he held in his tail. He’d had trouble fitting his tail so it wouldn’t trip anyone up, but now most of it lay coiled around the stool while the tip rested on the counter. “Hey what’s that?” Jason asked pointing at Ebony. “This is Ebony. My Paraspite.” Jason frowned. “How come are Paraspite’s don’t do that?” he asked. “It’s because you have the power to manipulate shadows.” Ebony explained. Tim repeated this to the other two. “But she still can’t communicate with us verbally though.” Damian pointed out. “True.” Ebony agreed. Tim smiled. “I see the kitchen’s still intact.” He looked round to see Bruce in the doorway. “Someone needs to go into the city to see how things are. I’d go myself but...” he guestured to his wings. “I can go.” Tim volunteered. I can wear a hood that covers the top half of my face.”  
“What about your tail?” Jason asked.  
“I could stuff most of it in a back pack.” He suggested. Bruce looked thoughtful. “Hang on.” He left the room leaving them alone again. When he returned he was holding a hiking rucksack and a large hunting knife. He placed the bag on Tim’s back before placing it on the table. Then he began to c ut a whole in the back of the bag. “Try that.” He said handing it over to Tim. Tim pulled it on so it hung from the crook of his arms before slipping his tail inside. Once it was completely hidden he pulled the rucksack up so the straps were over his chest. “It works.” He announced grinning. “Now all we need is an oversized hoodie.” Jason said.   
“With Drake’s stature that shouldn’t be a challenge.” Damian added.


	3. Not Quite Human

Tim walked down the street taking care not to knock his hood down. The streets seemed empty. “Where is everyone?” Ebony asked. Tim shrugged. “I don’t know.” He turned the corner and stopped. Sat on a bench across the road sat a woman, pushing a stroller back and forth with one hand. She had her coat hood pulled over her head and seemed to be moving her head from side to side. After a moment of thinking Tim made his way across the road to her. “Hey.” He greeted her, taking care to keep some distance. She glanced over to him but said nothing. “I’m sorry to bother you. But you’re the first person I’ve seen.” She looked up slightly but said nothing. Tim took a couple more steps towards her. Smiling in what he hopped was a reassuring manner he bent down slightly, to try to get a glimpse of her face. She turned her head away, but not before he spotted what looked like tentacles coming from her scalp. “Hey it’s ok. Look.” He pulled his hood back so the base of his horns showed. “See. I’m just like you.” The woman looked up and smiled a little. “Do you know what’s going on?” he asked. She shook her head. “No sorry. I came out to see if anyone else was around but...” she gestured at the empty street. “Is there anyone you can go to? See f they know anything.” Tim asked. She shook her head. “Emma’s dad lives in Ohio. And my parent’s, well they’re not around. I’m on my own.”   
“Emma? Is that your daughter’s name?”  
“Yes. And mine’s Sara.”  
“I’m Tim.”  
“Well it’s nice to meet you Tim.” He was just about to speak again when he noticed something. At the end of the street in front of the police station a small crowd had been gathering. “Come on. Let’s see what’s going on.” He tugged on Sara’s sleeve a little. She seemed reluctant at first but stood up and started pushing the pushchair towards the crowd, Tim walking by her side. When he got closer he saw that most of the crowd had been through a similar transformation, though some looked as human as ever. A man Tim recognised but couldn’t name stood at the top of the steps. He looked completely human, though the second man who stood a little behind him clearly had a Paraspite. The human looking crowd members stood a little apart from the rest. As if they thought they’d catch something. “Ladies and gentleman.” The man spoke. “I understand you all must be very confused about what is happening. I’m sad to say we don’t really have many answers to any question’s you might have.” He paused to allow the crowd to make their dissatisfaction known. “However we are trying to contact the outside world. We will also be opening a food bank here at midday for anyone who may not have anything edible at home. This is for those who were infected and have no edible food at home only!” A few people grumbled, but most seemed to understand. The infected had been asleep for a while; they were in desperate need of food. “That is all for now.” He turned round and went back inside, the second man close behind. The crowd shouted question’s after them but if they could hear they didn’t respond. “I’d better head home.” Tim said. “I need to tell the others what’s going on.” Sara nodded. “I’ll stay here.” She smiled at him. “Maybe I’ll see you later?” Tim shrugged. “Maybe.”  
***  
Everyone sat waiting for Tim to return. Since he had left Dick, Cass and Duke had all woken and come to the kitchen in search of food. Alfred had also shown up. He had been in the Batcave when the Paraspite’s had spread and was one of the few, 5% was the estimate, who was uninfected. Dick was struggling to eat with his new mouth. Two mandibles grew from the corners and his lower jaw kept splitting open causing food to spill out. He was also shirtless as he was doing things one handed as his left hand was now completely black, like Damian’s, and his instead of fingers he now had metal claws twice as long as his fingers had been. The others could see the spines that grew along his spine stick up in his frustration. Cas was also having a hard time eating. Her mouth seemed to have melted so there were only a few small holes for her to stick food into. Her tail, a long thin red thing the length of her body, curled and uncurled. Two horns like Tim’s grew from her forehead. Duke was having an easier time eating, though he had to take care not to bite himself with his fangs, though he was a little disorientated from his new third eye. Every now and then he’d run his hand over the gills on his neck. No one really spoke until they heard footsteps coming down the hall. Tim burst in the hiking rucksack slung over one shoulder and his tail trailing behind him. “Tim.” Bruce pointed to the bag. “My tail was going numb.” He explained throwing the bag down. “Not that we needed to worry anyway. There’s plenty of others in the same situation. Go down to the police station at midday if you don’t believe me.”   
“He’s right.” Lyra said. “There were thousands of us. We should have all found a host.” Bruce nodded. “What about the uninfected?”  
“Some seem tense, but they’re vastly outnumbered so they’d have to be morons to try anything.”   
“Which most of them probably are.” Jason pointed out. “Shut up.” He added, speaking to Cruz.  
“Does anyone else know?” Dick asked. “Anyone outside of Gotham.”   
“They’ve been trying to make contact but they haven’t managed yet.” He grimaced a little. “God it sounds like we’re trying to talk to aliens.”  
“Well we kind of are.” They all turned to look at Jason. “What I mean is we’re not exactly human anymore. I’m not saying we’re better or anything. But we’ve definitely become something, else.”   
“He’s also right. Our hosts become another species known as Ferals.” Lyra explained. “Why Ferals?” Duke asked. Clearly Obi, his Paraspite, had told him the same thing. Then, “He says he doesn’t know.” There was more silence. It felt uneasy. With all of them under one roof there should have been more joking, more arguing, more noise and chaos. But they were all still in shock from what had happened to them. A few weeks ago they had gone to sleep expecting to never wake up. Only to wake up mutated into something, as Jason rightly put it, not quite human, with new powers and a second voice in their heads. “Maybe we could try to contact the league.” Dick suggested. “Tell them what’s happened.”   
“It’s about the best idea we’ve got at the moment.” Bruce agreed standing up. He made his way out of the kitchen and down the hall to the entrance to the cave, a trail of footsteps following close behind.


	4. Making Contact

The image on the screen was too blurred to make out, and the audio had a grating echo. But it was the best they could get. “Bruce?” Diana’s distorted voice spoke. “Diana you need to remove the quarantine. The Paraspites aren’t dangerous, it was a false alarm.”  
“What do you mean? And why can’t I see you?”  
“The quarantine barrier is interfering with the signal.”  
“But how are you alive?”  
“The Paraspite’s weren’t trying to kill anyone. They need a host to survive. Their last host species was wiped out.” There was a pause and he heard a second voice, though he couldn’t make out who it was, or what they said. Then Diana spoke again. “Maybe we should talk face to face. We should be able to get past the barrier.” Bruce thought for a moment then nodded. “She can’t see yooou.” Lyra sang. Bruce glared. “Ok.” He said before ending the call.

 

Dick leaned forward to get a better view. They were all hidden on a platform near the ceiling, except for Tim who hung from a pole by his tail. Bruce had told them to hide until he’d explained everything. Bruce stood in one of the shadows. “So wait. You’re telling us that you have an alien in your head?” Hal asked. “It’s a bit more complicated than that but yes.”  
“But why are you hiding from us?” Diana asked. “I just needed to explain before I showed you.”  
“Showed us what?” there was no response. “Bruce.” She took a step towards him. He held out his hands to stop her. All four of them. Dick grinned. And Bruce had complained about Lyra being dramatic. “He’s going to show them.” Xander said.  
“I know that.” Dick hissed. He looked back down to see Bruce was stepping into the light. “Bruce, you...”  
“You have wings!” Hal interrupted. “Batman has bat wings!”  
“I’m aware of that.” He growled. “That’s not all though.”  
“What else could there be?” Clark asked. Bruce shifted uncomfortably. “It would be better if I showed you. But I’m not sure how...”  
“I can do it.” Dick ducked back as they all looked up. “I can show them.” Tim called.

 

Tim dropped down until he was around eye level with everyone. “I can show them my gift.” They all stared at him mouths slightly agape. “I suppose yours is the least alarming or destructive.” Bruce agreed. Tim grinned and leaned back so he was sat on his tail. “Ok watch this.” His shadow began to shift and move, as did the shadows around him. They shifted until they had gathered into the form of a large dog shaped creature with long antlers and five tails. “It’s ok.” He reassured them. “My creatures aren’t sentient. I have complete control of them.” The shadow creature to a step forward. “You can pet them if you like.” Cautiously Diana reached her hand out and laid it on its head. “It feels soft.” She commented. “So does that mean you all have powers now?” Hal asked.  
“Power singular. But yes.”  
“But what can you do?”  
“He can make projectile weapons.” Bruce gave him a sideways glance. “That’s a over simplified version.” Tim had gotten bored of the conversation, as it was a repeat of one they’d had before. So he started swinging his tail side to side. It seemed less like a tail and more like a large snake. It moved in the same way and could support his weight. He’d even managed to make a seat out of it. He had almost nodded of when he felt something yank his tail. “Gah!” he cried. Scowling he looked up to see Jason grinning down at him. “What was that for?” he called up. “Just didn’t want you to fall asleep when we have guests.” He called back. “Seriously!? How would you like it if I pulled your wings?”  
“You’d have to catch me first.” Tim thought about it for a moment before an idea crossed his mind. The shadows behind Jason formed into a hand. “Wah!” Jason cried as he was yanked backwards by one of his wings. Dick and Cass burst into laughter. Duke chuckled a little and Damian rolled his eyes. “Will you lot behave!” Bruce snapped. “Please stop!” Ebony cried. “Please don’t fight I don’t like... Please don’t.” She was almost sobbing. “Hey, hey it’s ok.” He hushed her. “Don’t cry it’s ok.” His shadow shifted into the form of a cat and climbed onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest. “It’s ok Ebony you don’t need to be scared. We were only playing.” He glanced up to see they were staring at him. “My Paraspite got scared.” He explained. “She’s kind of shy. Actually she’s a bit like a child.” He hadn’t really thought about it until now but it was true. Her voice sounded young and she spoke in a slightly childish manner. “So she’s not like you then?” Barry asked. Tim shook his head. “The Paraspites are their own individuals. Sometimes they get on well with their hosts. Other time’s not so much. It’s probably why some Ferals come across so aggressive. They’ve got a really annoying Paraspite in their head.”  
“And a feral is?” Hal asked.  
“What we are.” Bruce answered. “At least according to the Paraspite’s.” He added. “Anyway now you’re up to date we need to discuss the barrier.”  
“Not to mention telling the world about this.”Diana pointed out.  
“It’s not going to be easy.” Clark added. “Not everyone will be happy to find there’s suddenly a new species.”  
“Especially one with powers.” Bruce finished. “We’ll need to be careful. There’s already some tension between the uninfected. But people need food. The power was cut off and most people have been asleep for weeks. There’s food being distributed to those who need it but it won’t be enough.”  
“We’ll see what we can do from the outside.” Clark agreed.


End file.
